The author should go to India and see the space program. Might offer a different perspective. I myself coming from an Asian country have seen many girl study engineering. It is considered a carier path and nothing more. There is no stigma attached.
In poorer countries there tend to be more female engineers because engineering is a good career for anyone (including women), and in poorer countries, having a good career is proportionally more important. The prevalence of female engineers in India is frequently used as support for the natural preference theory.
To add to this, in countries with low equality and weak social safety nets, having a lucrative career is far more important for survival. It's western countries where women are more free to choose a career based on interest.
This cannot be a correct assumption. In western countries also most Enginnering jobs pay well above what other female-dominated (medical care) jobs offer. Then why don't select these well-paying jobs over ones that don't pay as much?
Because their survival is not dependent on their career choice. Tech may pay more, but being a nurse is still perfectly fine. There are also more women entering the MD profession than men, and that pays better than tech, so there's even more room for people to move between fields based on a "natural" preference (if such a thing exists).